Ample evidences have demonstrated the beneficial effects of physical exercise on cognitive functions such as learning and memory. It is well established that female sex hormones have an important role in regulating learning and memory. This study was designed to investigate the effects of voluntary exercise and estrogen replacement on learning and memory deficits and reduction in hippocampal brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels induced by ovariectomy. Ovariectomized rats were given daily vehicle or 17 β-estradiol (20 μg/kg) and allowed to freely exercise in a running wheel over the course of 2 weeks. After this period, they were trained and tested on a water-maze spatial task for 5 consecutive days, followed by a probe test one day later. At the end of the behavioral tests, all animals were decapitated and their hippocampal levels of BDNF were measured. Ovariectomy impaired spatial learning and memory and reduced hippocampal BDNF levels. Exercise significantly improved performance during both training and the retention of the water-maze task and increased hippocampal BDNF. Exercise, 17 β-estradiol and their combination recovered the impairing effects of ovariectomy on learning and memory performance. The combined treatment did not produce stronger effect than either exercise or 17 β-estradiol alone. Our findings provide an important evidence about positive influences of regular exercise and estrogen treatment against cognitive and BDNF deficits induced in ovariectomized rats, an experimental model of menopause.

大量证据证明了体育锻炼对认知功能（如学习和记忆）的有益作用。众所周知，女性性激素在调节学习和记忆方面具有重要作用。这项研究旨在调查自愿运动和雌激素替代对卵巢切除术引起的学习和记忆障碍以及海马脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）水平降低的影响。每天给卵巢切除的大鼠服用媒介物或17β-雌二醇（20μg/ kg），并使其在跑轮中自由运动2周。在此期间之后，他们连续5天接受了水迷宫空间任务的培训和测试，然后在一天后进行了探针测试。在行为测试结束时，将所有动物断头并测量其海马BDNF水平。卵巢切除术损害空间学习和记忆并降低海马BDNF水平。运动在训练和保持水迷宫任务期间均显着改善了性能，并增加了海马BDNF。运动，17β-雌二醇及其组合可恢复卵巢切除术对学习和记忆性能的损害作用。联合治疗没有比单独运动或单独使用17β-雌二醇产生更强的作用。我们的发现为定期运动和雌激素治疗对卵巢切除的大鼠（一种更年期的实验模型）诱发的认知和BDNF缺乏产生积极影响提供了重要证据。运动在训练和保持水迷宫任务期间均显着改善了性能，并增加了海马BDNF。运动，17β-雌二醇及其组合可恢复卵巢切除术对学习和记忆性能的损害作用。联合治疗没有比单独运动或单独使用17β-雌二醇产生更强的作用。我们的发现为定期运动和雌激素治疗对卵巢切除大鼠（一种更年期的实验模型）引起的认知和BDNF缺乏的积极影响提供了重要证据。运动在训练和保持水迷宫任务期间均显着改善了性能，并增加了海马BDNF。运动后，17β-雌二醇及其组合恢复了卵巢切除术对学习和记忆性能的损害作用。联合治疗没有比单独运动或单独使用17β-雌二醇产生更强的作用。我们的发现为定期运动和雌激素治疗对卵巢切除的大鼠（一种更年期的实验模型）引起的认知和BDNF缺乏的积极影响提供了重要的证据。联合治疗没有比单独运动或单独使用17β-雌二醇产生更强的作用。我们的发现为定期运动和雌激素治疗对卵巢切除的大鼠（一种更年期的实验模型）诱发的认知和BDNF缺乏产生积极影响提供了重要证据。联合治疗没有比单独运动或单独使用17β-雌二醇产生更强的作用。我们的发现为定期运动和雌激素治疗对卵巢切除的大鼠（一种更年期的实验模型）诱发的认知和BDNF缺乏产生积极影响提供了重要证据。